This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: iOS 17 might turn your iPhone into a dashboard for your smart home. Plus, Apple’s new journaling app seems like it will arrive soon as well. With WWDC23 just weeks away, we don’t have long to wait.

Also on The CultCast:

• Three Apple TV+ hits conquer the streaming charts.
• Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie is a moving and surprisingly inspirational documentary about the actor’s life (and his heroic battle with Parkinson’s disease).
• MoviePass is back from the dead — and one option actually sounds enticing!

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.

Memorial Day, a time to remember and honor the sacrifices of service members, comes up this Monday. To express gratitude to active duty and retired military personnel, power-product provider Bluetti is introducing a Veterans and Military Purchase Program.

And in addition, the company’s Memorial Day Sale offers great discounts on power stations for everyone — in some cases, hundreds of dollars off. (Find deals at the links below.)

An increasingly murky economic outlook (debt ceiling anyone?) makes it more important than ever to maneuver the stock market with some savvy. Fortunately, you no longer need to pay outrageous fees in order to trade like a pro.

For a limited time, a lifetime subscription to the Tykr stock screener’s Pro Plan is available at $20 off the sale price ($119.99) when you use coupon code STOCK. This offer is valid only through May 28.

Apple TV+ dystopian sci-fi hit Silo sends Juliette out on her second day as sheriff and into a minefield this week.

The show, about the last few thousand people on earth living inside a massive underground structure, unveils more tentacles of its political conspiracy. When Juliette and her new deputy look into the murder of their predecessors, they find corruption and lies in every corner they search. The episode, entitled “The Janitor’s Boy,” is a thrilling chapter in the Silo saga.

Are you ready to take your golf game up a gear? Modern technology means you don’t need to spend entire days traveling to the golf course to practice your putt. With a cutting-edge golf simulator like the TruGolf Mini, you can boost your skills anytime, anywhere.

You can play a round on virtual versions of famous golf courses or brush up with minigames. All the while, built-in analytical tools let you see what’s going right — and what’s going wrong — with your swing.

Typically $249, you can grab TruGolf Mini for only $199.97 during our Memorial Day Sale. That’s the best price you’ll find anywhere online, but this deal ends May 31 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific. 

City on Fire, the new Apple TV+ drama about a web of connections that expands from the attempted murder of an NYU student, nears what looks like a breakthrough this week.

Charlie finds a roll of undeveloped film that’s a missing piece of the puzzle surrounding the near-death of Samantha, the object of his affection. Nicky thinks he has the upper hand, but learns he’ll always be someone’s patsy. Plus, Keith and Regan follow a lead to a dead end, and Amory starts to sweat.

Entitled “Brass Tactics,” it’s an action-packed episode with few of City on Fire’s usual misplaced steps.

After a long wait, Final Cut Pro, Apple’s professional video editing software, is now available for M1 or newer iPads. Editors accustomed to Final Cut Pro on their Mac can easily switch to their iPad as a portable editing machine.

However, before starting with Final Cut Pro on your iPad, you need to know how it differs from the Mac build. Both versions enable pro-level video editing, but they are understandably different in key ways.

Memorial Day is, of course, a time to honor and remember those who served. But it’s also an excellent chance to save money in Memorial Day sales like the one the Cult of Mac Store is running through the end of the day on Monday, May 29.

You can take up to 30% off great accessories for Apple products from makers like Elago, Rilee & Lo, SwitchEasy (selected items), Mifa, Laut, Bucardo and Nine Twenty Eight Co. Sample some highlights below and be sure to check out the whole sale featuring deals on hundreds of items!

This week on Drops of God, the excellent Apple TV+ show about two people competing for the title of greatest sommelier on earth, Camille and Issei consider their places in the world — and in their family lines.

Issei, fuming over a secret long kept, needs to focus for the final challenge. Camille, weighing an impulsive business decision, wonders what the next step for her will be, no matter whether she wins or loses.

Some of the computer setups on social media with the biggest “wow” factor are Mac Pro-based. And some boast not one but multiple Pro Display XDRs, Apple’s unattainably high-priced top monitor.  But some “wow” setup have both a Mac Pro and multiple Pro Display XDRs, like today’s featured rig.

And discussion prompted by the setup covers a key issue to consider when you’ve got a big, heavy, gorgeous, super-expensive display. What’s the most solid, safe and wiggle-free mount to use with it?

Updating your Microsoft software might not seem exciting, but it can prove crucial for productivity. What is exciting is knowing the secret to getting legitimate copies of Windows, Microsoft Office and more at just a fraction of the full price.

Your gateway to savings: software activation keys.

The Carsule is a secure, UV-resistant pop-up tent that goes anywhere your car goes.

Just in time for Memorial Day, this “pop-up cabin for your car” is \on sale for only $309.97 (regularly $379). However, this deal lasts only through the end of the month. Act fast if you want to get the best price you’ll find anywhere online.

Season two of Prehistoric Planet will fill the heart of any dinosaur-obsessed child with joy. And adults should watch, too — especially anyone who still thinks dinos are slow-moving, stupid creatures that are just waiting around to go extinct.

These new episodes, which Apple TV+ doled out this week, combine cutting-edge CGI with the latest in paleontology. The result is a series that’s stunningly beautiful, exciting to watch and as scientifically accurate as possible.

Do you dream of exploring exotic destinations and creating memories that last a lifetime? The world is calling, and now is your chance to answer. While experts predict flight prices will remain high this year, you can save big on airfare with a lifetime subscription to Matt’s Flights Premium Plan.

As part of our Memorial Day sale, this service is now only $49.99. No coupon is needed, but the special price will only last until May 31 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific.

Whether you’re planning a solo adventure, your family’s summer vacation or the bucket list trip you’ve always dreamed of, consider this your golden ticket to making it happen for less money than you ever thought possible.

Qi2 is a new wireless charging standard expected to go into widespread use later in 2023. And, according to an unconfirmed report, the upcoming iPhone 15 will be one of the handsets that supports it, including 15W charging.

That’s not surprising, considering Qi2 is heavily based on the MagSafe system built into current iPhones.

Moft released its cool, origami-style Snap Float Folio for iPad in 2022, offering a versatile four stand positions for the tablet. Now the company has updated the folio, reinforcing it and adding stronger magnets for a better hold, among other changes.

“In retrospect, yeah, stronger magnets would definitely improve the stand,” said Ed Hardy, Cult of Mac‘s reviewer of the original Snap Float. He loved it then, and it sounds like the new one’s even better.

A new power bank from Belkin includes a built-in wireless charger that can juice up the latest Apple Watch models in the minimum amount of time. The battery also can simultaneously replenish an iPhone through its USB-C port.

The BoostCharge Pro Fast Wireless Charger for Apple Watch + Power Bank 10K launched Thursday.

With spring soon turning to summer, isn’t it time you lightened up your look and added a bit of bling? Maybe a studded leather Apple Watch band in taupe and some shiny and colorful Apple Watch cases to go with it are just the thing.

Goldenerre’s popular leather band is now available in a taupe color in the Cult of Mac Store, along with shiny gold and silver Apple Watch cases, with (or without) rhinestones for maximum bling.

A newly published patent filing shows Apple is exploring the possibility of building support for the Find My device locating system into a future version of the Apple Pencil. At the very least, the stylus might be able to play an alert sound to make it more findable.

Other products from the company already have this feature.

Apple TV+ went wheels-up Thursday with a trailer for the upcoming thriller series Hijack. In it, Idris Elba plays a business negotiator who finds himself on a hijacked airliner and sets about handling a desperate situation that is much more complicated than it first appears — with the lives of 200 passengers at stake.

On the plane the clock is very much ticking, and so is ours as we wait for this show to take off. It debuts June 28 on Apple TV+.

OpenAI’s ChatGPT for iOS makes the much-hyped chatbot easy to use on an iPhone. It’s powered by the same artificial intelligence as the web version, so it’s useful in many ways for people on the go. Plus, the app has its own voice-recognition system. And the basic version is free.

The ChatGPT AI already stirred up enormous controversy. But here are some suggestions for how to use the new iPhone application in positive ways.

The 2023 Mac mini with the powerful Apple M2 processor is already an amazing deal, and shoppers can now save even more by buying a refurbished unit.

These are primarily desktops that consumers bought then returned so supplies are limited. There are no units with the M2 Pro processor available at this time, for example.

Apple TV+ neo-noir comedy High Desert gets mired in criminal business and stolen paintings this week. The show stars Patricia Arquette as Peggy Newman, who’s doing some on-the-ground investigation into a missing woman and the trail of chaos she left in her wake.

Is her husband, a mutilated guru, to blame? Or the woman’s mobbed-up brothers? The episode, entitled “Get Judy off the Bed,” delivers another delirious dose of the streaming service’s newest success.

Imagine possessing the power to match the color of anything. The Nix Mini color sensor does exactly that and sends all the details right to your iPhone. With this handy gadget, you can color-match old wall paint, piece together a palette for your next project and do much more with a simple scan.

And now it’s cheaper than ever. Until May 31, you can get the Nix Mini 2 color sensor for only $59.97 (regularly $99).

Walking into a doctor’s office to be greeted by a public announcement of the medical condition you’re there to have treated would be a nightmare. A nightmare that plays out in the latest Apple video advert.

But one person in the ad is safe from embarrassment: the one who stores her medical data in the iPhone Health app, which Apple designed to protect user privacy.